Explanation of the Book of the Adhan-10a
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: It was narrated to us by Iyash, who said: It was narrated to us by 'Abd al-A'la, who said: It was narrated to us by 'Ubayd Allah from Nafi' that Ibn 'Umar, when he entered the prayer, would say the takbir and raise his hands, and when he bowed, he would raise his hands, and when he said "Allah hears the one who praises Him," he would raise his hands, and when he stood up from the two rak'ahs, he would raise his hands. Ibn 'Umar attributed this to the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Hammad ibn Salamah narrated it from Ayyub from Nafi' from Ibn 'Umar from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And Ibn Thahman narrated it from Ayyub and Musa ibn 'Uqbah in a shortened form.
The Shaykh : This contains a fourth position, which is when he stands up from the two rak'ahs, he raises his hands. The apparent meaning, indeed the explicit meaning, is that he does not raise his hands except when he stands up. By this, we know the error of those who say that he raises his hands while sitting and then stands up, for this is a pure error with no evidence for it. But, glory to Allah, some of those who have attained some knowledge take up such issues without scrutiny and without verification. This is dangerous for them and for others. As for the danger to them, it is because they worship Allah without insight. And as for the danger to others, it is because people follow their example and worship Allah without insight. So, the conclusion is that raising the hands when standing up from the first tashahhud only occurs when one stands up from the two rak'ahs, and this is explicit. As for how high it goes? You have just heard that it goes up to the level of the shoulders, and in some narrations to the tips of the ears, and in some narrations to the earlobes. It was said to combine the narrations, and it was said that these are multiple descriptions. As for combining them: those who said it goes up to the level of the shoulders meant the bottom of the palm, those who said it goes up to the tips of the ears meant the fingertips, and those who said it goes up to the earlobes meant the middle. Some say rather that these are three descriptions. The closest to me is that this is a broad matter, and that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) raises his hands; this is the most important thing. As for how high it goes, it should not be less than the shoulders and should not exceed the tips of the ears, and the rest is a wide margin. This is the closest view. As for some people who raise their hands higher than the tips of the ears, this is an error; this is excess. And some people fall short of the shoulders; this is negligence. Some of the common people say "Allahu Akbar" like this, "Allahu Akbar"; this is falling short. And some people say "Allahu Akbar" like this; this is an error. Yes, we have seen this; this is an error. The correct thing is to follow the Sunnah in this, but the matter is broad between it being up to the tips of the ears, or up to the earlobes, or up to the shoulders. It is one of the matters in which there is leeway. Yes.
The Shaykh : This contains a fourth position, which is when he stands up from the two rak'ahs, he raises his hands. The apparent meaning, indeed the explicit meaning, is that he does not raise his hands except when he stands up. By this, we know the error of those who say that he raises his hands while sitting and then stands up, for this is a pure error with no evidence for it. But, glory to Allah, some of those who have attained some knowledge take up such issues without scrutiny and without verification. This is dangerous for them and for others. As for the danger to them, it is because they worship Allah without insight. And as for the danger to others, it is because people follow their example and worship Allah without insight. So, the conclusion is that raising the hands when standing up from the first tashahhud only occurs when one stands up from the two rak'ahs, and this is explicit. As for how high it goes? You have just heard that it goes up to the level of the shoulders, and in some narrations to the tips of the ears, and in some narrations to the earlobes. It was said to combine the narrations, and it was said that these are multiple descriptions. As for combining them: those who said it goes up to the level of the shoulders meant the bottom of the palm, those who said it goes up to the tips of the ears meant the fingertips, and those who said it goes up to the earlobes meant the middle. Some say rather that these are three descriptions. The closest to me is that this is a broad matter, and that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) raises his hands; this is the most important thing. As for how high it goes, it should not be less than the shoulders and should not exceed the tips of the ears, and the rest is a wide margin. This is the closest view. As for some people who raise their hands higher than the tips of the ears, this is an error; this is excess. And some people fall short of the shoulders; this is negligence. Some of the common people say "Allahu Akbar" like this, "Allahu Akbar"; this is falling short. And some people say "Allahu Akbar" like this; this is an error. Yes, we have seen this; this is an error. The correct thing is to follow the Sunnah in this, but the matter is broad between it being up to the tips of the ears, or up to the earlobes, or up to the shoulders. It is one of the matters in which there is leeway. Yes.